Centre-left wins Maltese election

Malta’s Labour Party will return to power for the first time in 15 years after a decisive victory in a general election yesterday (9 March).

Labour, led by Joseph Muscat, secured 55% of the vote, with the centre-right Nationalist Party, led by Lawrence Gonzi, picking up 43%. The difference between the two parties is around 30,000 votes, giving Labour the largest majority since the country gained independence from the UK in 1964.

Muscat, 39, who was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2008, will now attend this week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels (14-15 March).

Gonzi, who has been prime minister since 2004, has announced that he is standing down as leader of the Nationalist Party. “I shoulder the responsibility [for the defeat] personally and completely,” Gonzi said.

The general election was brought forward a few months after Gonzi lost a parliamentary vote on the national budget in December. Muscat has said that he will reconvene parliament as soon as possible in order to tackle the budget problem.